Ernie Joseph "Cag" Cagnolatti (April 2, 1911,

Madisonville, Louisiana Madisonville is a town in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, St. Tammany Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 748 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, and 850 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is part of the New Orleans& ...

– April 7, 1983,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trumpeter.

Biography

He was one of six children born to Leonce "Leon" and Anna Shelby Cagnolatti. An excerpt from a piece written about Cosimo Matassa titled "Roll With It" stated that " Little Cag " shared Italian and African American parentage. He was also raised

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Cagnolatti began on trumpet around 1929 and played with Herbert Leary from 1933 to 1942, as well as off and on with

Sidney Desvigne Sidney Desvigne (September 11, 1893 – December 2, 1959) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played in a large number of noted 1910s and 1920s-era New Orleans Jazz ensembles, including Leonard Bechet's Silver Bell Band, the Maple Leaf Orchestr ...

and

Papa Celestin Oscar Phillip Celestin (January 1, 1884 – December 15, 1954), better known by his stage name Papa Celestin, was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Life and career Celestin was born in Napoleonville, Louisiana, to a Creole family, son o ...

. Cagnolatti was a recurring member of many of the major New Orleans

brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

s; he worked in the bands of George Williams in the 1940s and 1950s, and with

Alphonse Picou Alphonse Floristan Picou (October 19, 1878 – February 4, 1961) was an important very early American jazz clarinetist, who also wrote and arranged music. He was born and died in New Orleans, Louisiana. Early life and education Alphonse Picou w ...

in the early 1950s. He recorded with

Paul Barbarin Adolphe Paul Barbarin (May 5, 1899 – February 17, 1969) was an American jazz drummer from New Orleans. Career Barbarin grew up in New Orleans in a family of musicians, including his father Isidore, three of his brothers (including Louis), and ...

repeatedly over the course of the 1950s and 1960s. He and Jim Robinson collaborated in the early 1960s, and he also recorded with

Harold Dejan Harold Andrew "Duke" Dejan (February 4, 1909 – July 5, 2002) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in New Orleans. Dejan is best remembered as leader of the Olympia Brass Band during the 1960s and 1970s, when it was considered t ...

in 1962 and with the

Onward Brass Band The Onward Brass Band was either of two brass bands active in New Orleans for extended periods of time. Onward Brass Band (c. 1886–1930) This incarnation of the Onward Brass Band played often in its early history at picnics, festivals, parades, ...

in 1968. From 1974 to 1980 Cagnolatti was a mainstay at

Preservation Hall Preservation Hall is a jazz venue on St Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building is associated with a house band, a record label, and a non-profit foundation. History of the jazz hall In the 1950s, art de ...

. He suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 1980 and did not play afterwards.

References

*Alden Ashforth, "Cag Cagnolatti". '' Grove Jazz'' online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cagnolatti, Cag 1911 births 1983 deaths American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Jazz musicians from New Orleans 20th-century American trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Onward Brass Band members 20th-century African-American musicians People from Madisonville, Louisiana